“Pronto? Buongiorno. Arrivederci!” This was a typical conversation between my wife and me during the weeks leading up to our honeymoon trip to Italy. Neither of us had any experience speaking Italian, so we downloaded a few podcasts and began practicing as much as we could. I also downloaded a free app that used Google’s translation dictionary to fill in during emergencies. What I really wish we had had was something more visual, something that could help us with pronunciation, and something that could be quicker and less cumbersome than a big dictionary.

Enter ViDICTO+ mytrip (formerly iLingua), whose tagline is “see hear read link.” Indeed, one of the first things you notice about this language helper app is how pretty it looks. My promo copy was for Japanese, but the setup is the same for all languages. On the main menu, you can select “Categories” which will give you various everyday scenarios where you will most likely need language assistance. These included “at the airport”, “hotel lobby”, “dinner”, and “shopping”. A “Trainer” option allows you to select words and phrases from the categories interface to keep together and quiz yourself in future sittings. The app also allows you to create three additional short lists to view at a quick glance or study from.

As mentioned above, the layout and interface of ViDICTO+ is outstanding, perhaps, the best I’ve seen and experienced in any application on the iPhone. The menus are animated, colorful, and very smooth. Once the application has loaded (12-15 seconds), there are no hiccups or pauses at any point of operation. Navigating through the app is intuitive, though there is an excellent help guide included within the application. Tapping once on the picture or wordwill give you a pronunciation from an authentic speaker. Double tapping will give you options to add to your trainer or list, as well as access Wikipedia, a Thesaurus, and some common phrases for you to study.

Where ViDICTO+ falls short is its ability to teach. Although I have heard of some language programs that teach you by using important vocabulary words and phrases in situations (the podcasts we downloaded used this method), ViDICTO+ is not organized to do this, nor (to its credit) does it market itself as such. Instead, the application is designed to be a review mechanism for a language learner, or as a visual aid to use when a traveler finds herself in a situation similar to the ones included in the application. If I’m at the hotel, and I’d like to request a cab, I can pull out ViDICTO+ and either point to the cab picture or use the included phrase. Pump up the volume and I can even have the iPhone say the phrase that I want.

Some suggestions I would have for the developers include: a better system of drilling. I think ViDICTO+ could eventually market itself as a teaching app if it organized its situations into lessons and setup a module system. I’d like to see additional phrases, pictures, and situations included in updates, and possibly a translating dictionary within the app. This last suggestion could really combine a few apps into one and give ViDICTO+ a bit of an advantage over other apps. All in all, though, for $1.99, I find it very easy to recommend this application. Simply to award the developers for putting together a beautiful application that may just teach you a thing or two about a new language. ViDicto+ is also available in Spanish, German, Russian, Chinese, and soon in French. There is also a free lite version for Spanish in case you want to check it out before buying.

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I was late to the Facebook game, and although I do enjoy a good status update every now and then, I am definitely not a FB addict. One of the things I constantly hear from other friends who are self described addicts is how much time they spend playing games online. We’re not talking huge video games like Quake or Call of Duty, but rather simple ones like Boggle or Poker. One of the most popular games was Scrabulous, a Scrabble knockoff that got some interesting press a few months ago when Hasbro decided that they wanted to make some money on their game title. Well, the popular word game (now named Lexulous) has arrived to the iPhone in the form of a native app.

In order to begin, you’ll need a Facebook account, so you can play with your friends or anyone for that matter. Lexulous allows you to choose from your Facebook friends directly from the application and you can start a word game with the simple click of their name. You can also view their stats to see if they are a major player or not. If you’re like me and are not sure which of your friends (if any) play Lexulous, you can join a public game or host a game on your own. Future updates include an option to play against the computer.

The design and layout of Lexulous are excellent. Although not as pretty as the Scrabble app (from the screenshots that I’ve seen of Scrabble), Lexulous was very close and has a clean look in its own right. The gameplay is still similar to Scrabble, though you have eight tiles instead of seven. It was very easy to start a game with friends, and although I tried several public games, I found the players available for games often had very high ratings, were looking to chat with specific people (often women), or would end up not playing on a consistent basis. Honestly, I’m looking forward to the update which includes playing against the computer as I just could not get a full game in on the iPhone when playing against random people.

If playing with friends that you know and reliable ones at that, then Lexulous is well designed and can offer a solid (and slightly cheaper) alternative to the iPhone version of Scrabble. The integration with Facebook is a big positive factor for Lexulous. If you have a well established friend base and play Lexulous on FB regularly, then the iPhone version will offer you an opportunity to continue playing wherever you are. Since I ended up joining several games, I’d love to see a better system of being notified when it’s my turn (can you say “push”?), and maybe it was me, but I could not figure out how to quit a game, so I just have 4 random games going, and none of them most likely will ever be finished. Technical observations included a slow initial load and one crash, but Lexulous seems stable and responsive otherwise. I did notice (and other app reviews seem to agree) that in this version, Lexulous has a small problem connecting initially in 3G/EDGE, but once you click past a popup, the app runs fine. I’d feel comfortable recommending it at $3.99 for only those who play on Facebook regularly. For those who don’t, I’d wait for the update or possible check out the Scrabble app (albeit for an additional $1).

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I was on the bus to work when it occurred to me that I might be able to get my Exchange account back. You see, I have become very attached to Google calendar and more recently Google contacts. When GoogleSync was released, I was very excited to have the push capabilities of Calendar and Contacts. With ease, I set up and was able to push my calendar, along with my wife’s and our joint calendars. Although the initial sync of contacts was a bit frustrating (I relied on MS Outlook for a long time), I was pleased with the overall results. The one downside was the fact that GoogleSync used the Exchange Account, and the iPhone frustratingly only allows you to use one Exchange account. Thus, I was unable to link my work email to my iPhone and instead had to rely on a bookmark and a much more cumbersome web based interface. With the release of iPhone OS 3.0, CalDAV support was included, and after I read a bit more about this, the wheels started rolling.

Step one: I needed to read up on how to set up CalDAV on the iPhone. Google offers a forum post here, and I found a work around for multiple accounts here. Once I felt comfortable with this potential setup, I was ready to start the process of getting my Exchange account back. Honestly, I was willing to give up syncing my contacts for the ability to get my work email back and integrated with the iPhone’s Mail app. However, a quick search in the App Store revealed an application called Sync in a Blink that claimed to sync your Google contacts over the air and without using an Exchange account.

So, off went the Google calendar and contacts from the Exchange account. This was indeed scary as all of my calendar events and contacts were quickly wiped from my iPhone. I’d recommend a backup before you try this just in case, though my backup times have been excessively long so I played with fire here. With the CalDAV accounts set up (see above links), my calendars were now on my iPhone and syncing correctly both ways. A nice bonus was that the colors on Google calendar were showing up correctly on the iPhone. This was often a crapshoot using GoogleSync, so I was pleasantly surprised when I saw green, purple, and blue displayed correctly on my native iPhone calendar. Next up was the import of my Google contacts.

Again, deleting all of the contacts from my iPhone was scary, but required. Upon opening Sync in a Blink, I entered my Gmail account info and started the sync. Without interruption, the sync took 7 minutes, but keep in mind, I had over 1,000 contacts (1,332 to be exact), so this was a reasonable amount of time in my opinion. I chose the “merge” option since I wiped all contacts from my phone, so all Gmail contacts would override any conflicts. This resulted in some duplicates, but this was largely the result of my upload from Outlook to Google awhile ago. I don’t blame Sync in a Blink for this slight annoyance. To test the app further, I made some changes on the iPhone and in my Google contacts, synced again, and in less than 1 minute, all changes were correctly reflected in both places.

Each time you start a sync process, Sync in a Blink downloads your Gmail contacts, processes iPhone contacts, adds contacts, makes changes to Google contacts, deletes Gmail contacts, and concludes with a summary report. All of this took less than one minute, and I tested in both WiFi and in 3G environments. I experienced only a handful of hiccups by the app during a week of testing. Other nice features included with the application are a conflicts tab which allows you to manually resolve any changes made to both the iPhone and in Gmail, a history tab that allows you to access your summary reports, and a settings screen that allows you to change options involving groups, accounts, and images.

All in all, Sync in a Blink provided the final piece needed for me to stay in sync with Google and yet also use my Exchange account for my work email and calendar. The application is well organized and its execution is simple and nearly flawless. If you’re in a similar situation to mine, heavily connected to Google apps, but want to access your Exchange account for work, I highly recommend Sync in a Blink in conjunction with CalDAV accounts. My one recommendation for the developers would be to incorporate an scheduled auto sync, but this might be a limitation that has more to do with Apple. Until then, for $4.99, Sync in a Blink is well worth the money and despite not having a free lite version, you can take it from this reviewer that you won’t be disappointed.

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I’m not a huge business card user. In fact, I carry a few of them mostly so I can throw them into a fishbowl in order to win a free lunch at a restaurant. However, I can imagine how useful it would be to have an application that would take business cards and effortlessly import their information into your contacts list. CardSnap attempts to address this by using a proprietary method similar to OCR but not really (or so says the app’s description).

Upon opening (and waiting for) CardSnap, you are given the option to use the camera to snap a picture of the business card. You can also load photos from your camera roll or from your photo library. However, since the main selling point is to use this application in real time, I wanted to focus on the camera option. After taking a picture, you can move and scale your picture before deciding to upload to the servers at CardSnap. Once you’re satisfied with your business card’s readability (this may take some time with the iPhone’s pitiful camera), you submit the card, and wait for a response. Other options in the application include a menu to review your submitted cards, an info screen that offers a user’s guide, and a settings screen that allows you to use groups with your contacts.

I submitted a few business cards several times and was impressed on occasion with the response from CardSnap. We all know that the camera on the iPhone is not very good, and the picture quality is marginal at best. To the application’s defense, the user guide strongly recommends the use of Griffin’s Clarifi case. I was unable to test with this, so I had to rely on the standard camera app as I imagine most iPhone users would as well. With my work business card, the app said that there were some illegible fields, and I should probably review these before accepting it as a contact. Indeed, there was an error in my name, and a wrong digit in my work phone number. Other than that, though, I was impressed with how many of the details were picked up by the service and assigned to the correct field. On my wife’s business card, CardSnap got everything right, though interestingly, it did choose to skip a few items like a web address and part of her title.

Thankfully, there have been a few updates since CardSnap’s original release. When I first downloaded this app, stability was a major issue as the initial load time was long, and I had to reopen the application quite regularly. If you were to use this application on a regular basis, you might want to invest in the Clarifi case, though there’s no guarantee that the application will still get all of the fields correct. One positive test included a submission that I made using my Nikon D60 camera. CardSnap read this photo within hours and it did a perfect job of interpreting all of the fields correctly. Unfortunately, this is not a practical solution, and you might as well spend the time inputting your business cards by hand.

In the end, I would think the goal for CardSnap is to be an application that can scan business cards efficiently, effortlessly, and accurately. So far, the application succeeds in only some of these areas. It has a very simple interface, so it is possible to scan multiple business cards in a short amount of time. The program integrates well with your built-in contacts list, and it has shown high levels of accuracy when photo quality is high. I would love to see push notifications for business cards that have been reviewed as I had to open the application to check on the status. I understand the high price tag ($9.99) since CardSnap is more of an advanced application that recognizes fields rather than just translating images to text. However, for this price, one needs to demand better recognition for blurry images or wait until the camera on the iPhone improves. Perhaps, the 3GS will have better results. If you would like to try CardSnap before plunking down $10, there is a lite version, but it will still cost you $0.99. The limitation is that the app will only read 6 fields as opposed to 17. My recommendation is that CardSnap will be worth it if you receive and need to store a lot of business cards on a regular basis and you are willing to invest in either the iPhone 3GS and/or the Griffin Clarifi case.

Note: This application is currently only compatible with English keyboards.

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Growing up, I used to love those little number puzzles that you’d get in “goody-bags” where you would try to position little plastic number pieces in the correct order on a plastic square. When I received the application SlideRules by AntHill Games, I initially thought that this game would be similar to those nostalgic games. After playing with the app, I learned that SlideRules actually offered more than just a one time opportunity to have fun.

Upon first loading the game, you are presented with a variety of games. The tutorial mode offers a nice way to get started. The instructions are housed in the game, so you don’t have to wait impatiently staring at a load screen. Practice mode gives you an opportunity to hone your skills based on the number of moves you choose. The real game begins with classic mode, and here you begin the task of advancing through numerous stages. The goal of each game is to complete a defined task such as getting all of the circled numbers to be even, odd, greater than, less than, or equal to a certain number. You accomplish this by sliding a row of numbers left/right/up/down. The game keeps track of the number of moves you use, and thus, the lower the better. Added challenges as you progress make the game increasingly difficult, and new options such as bombs, walls, and changing numbers make the game a bit more interesting. Survival mode calls for a certain number of challenges to be completed in a set amount of time.

SlideRules impressed with its simple design and execution. There were no problems with stability and the app doesn’t take up much space. Load time was a matter of seconds, and the game was very easy to learn. I always like it when tutorials are found within the game and not through an outside website. I also appreciated the changes that come as you progress in the game. The additional challenges make it so that you won’t be completing the game in a matter of minutes.

Unfortunately, I just never really got into this game. Admittedly, I am not a huge fan of puzzle games. My patience wears thin at times, but I do appreciate a good design and I feel I can spot a game that will be able to hook people and keep gamers engaged. Unfortunately, SlideRules is just not there yet. It tries with the additional quirks such as bombs, walls, plus/minus symbols. However, the core of the game just never really appealed to me, so I wasn’t as motivated to continue exploring what additional challenges awaited me.

At $1.99, there are far worse apps and games that you could purchase. However, based on my experience and lack of motivation when playing, I cannot enthusiastically recommend SlideRules for purchase just yet. It’s interesting that in the game’s description, the makers write “Are you bored easily?” and then follow up with how SlideRules is the game for you. Well, I’d beg to differ, and since there’s a free lite version, I’d suggest that you check this out before spending $2 only to find that SlideRules may add to your boredom instead of curing it.

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One of the reasons I bought a Wii was so that I could run, jump, ski, and hula hoop all in the comforts of my home. The Wii and corresponding Wii Fit have revolutionized the gaming industry, and I suspect that Apple has taken some notes and plan to do the same with portable gaming. Honestly, I didn’t expect to experience anything close to the same with my iPhone, but the folks at Naquatic, the makers of Touch Ski 3D, attempt to prove me wrong with their newly updated game.

Overview
When I initially received this game, it was version 1.0 and only had a few levels. Since then, a completely updated version has been released and includes a variety of options and games. A wide selection of game modes now exist including ski school (training mode), race, freestyle park, distance jump, slalom, tight slalom, and freestyle jump. Other options include choosing your ski color, adjusting the volume of effects and music (which by the way happens to be the most chill music of all the games I’ve ever played), and checking in on high scores both personal and online.

In Ski School, you’ll learn that you use your fingers to control your skis, which are shown at the bottom of your landscaped iPhone screen. The game recommends using your index and middle finger, but I chose to use my two thumbs. Perhaps, I was just coming off of playing Sway, but it just felt more natural to me to play this way. Then again, I’m not breaking any records online, so don’t look at me for game play advice. When skis are the right distance apart and parallel, you’ll reach faster speeds (a color coded MPH reading at the top will help you decide if you’re doing things right or not – green = fast/good, red = slow/not so good). As in real skiing, turning will slow you down as will crossing your skis.

The variety of modes comes in handy when you get a bit tired of the same old course slalom or race course. Ski Jumping is fun as you try to get the most distance (I’m still trying to crack the Top 100), but better yet is Freestyle where you get to perform tricks while in mid air on a jump or in a ski park. Again, the inclusion of an online score board gives you something to shoot for globally, but I’m just as happy with trying to achieve personal records until my skills on the iPhone’s slopes improve.

All of these benefits come at a price of course, and I’m not referring to how much the game costs. The stability of the program remains a major concern. As I was playing the game while writing this review, the program crashed 4 times in 20 minutes. Yes, Naquatic, I’ve rebooted my phone, so it’s not that. And yes, your graphics are pretty cool and I’m sure resource intensive. However, if buyers are expected to play this game for longer than 5 minute increments, I’d say we deserve better stability. To their credit, the developers have released several updates, so it seems that they’re invested in the game. Crashes have lessened since the early version, though it’s far from perfect. In addition, load times of 10-15 seconds exist, though these are tolerable.

Honestly, at $0.99, Touch Ski 3D is a bargain in my opinion. The graphics are solid and the sound effects (there’s nothing like the swoosh of skiing) are a nice touch. With multiple game modes, online leader boards, and several updates to address crashes, the game is easily worth a dollar. Do realize that the current version (v2.1 as of this review) still has problems, but if you can live with periodic crashes for the time being, you’ll be rewarded with a fun game that looks and feels great on the iPhone. As always when it applies, I’ll recommend trying the free Lite version and upgrading for a buck if you like what you see.

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I’ll admit to not being much of an avid gamer, even less so on the iPhone. However, I do appreciate it when a game takes advantage of unique controls. I bought a Wii because it was different, and I enjoy learning new ways to become more interactive with games as opposed to those that increasingly use more buttons or different combination of keypad controls. On the iPhone, the use of the touch screen has opened up another genre of gaming, and Sway attempts to “tap” into this area.

Overview
Just looking at the opening screen, which resembles a page out a comic book, I knew that this game was going to be special. You have a choice of characters that you will add to as the game progresses. There is a nice instructional video embedded in the game (not the usual link to a website) that the tutorial walks you through the process of swaying in the game. Essentially, you use your two thumbs as the hands of your character. By moving your thumb side to side or in a circular motion, your character will spin and upon release of your thumb, your character will let go and grab onto something only if you press again with your thumb. Once you’re ready to start your game, you can choose from multiple levels, many of which are initially locked, but open up as you gain more experience and complete additional levels. Each level contains a number of stars that you’re supposed to collect, a time goal, and occasionally a “save friend” goal, which ultimately unlocks new characters for you to choose from.

Once you get the hang of Sway, the game is quite amusing and engaging. As opposed to a Super Mario Bros. type game where you’re running and jumping, Sway gets you involved with the touch controls, and although it can be frustrating in the beginning, the early levels are simple enough for you to hone in your swaying skills so that you can proceed to the more challenging levels. A nice feature is that you have an infinite number of lives, meaning you can fall off the screen as many times as you want. Your score is determined by the amount of stars you collect and the time you take to do so. Thus, you could take 10 minutes to complete a stage, and though you won’t be on top of the leader boards anytime soon, you’ll be able to advance to another level. You can repeat levels to improve on your performance (indicated by gold, silver, and bronze ratings), or to attempt a rescue of a friend again.

As mentioned above, the controls on Sway can be frustrating and may not be for certain younger gamers despite looking very friendly to that generation. For example, I thought my cousin (age 11) would love this game, but she’d quickly abandoned the game and seemed to prefer simple bubble popping or puzzle games. As the levels get more challenging, some stages seem to be more frustrating and you end up having to start over many times. However, there are checkpoints in each level, so this helps when the levels get really hard. Although I have not played enough to complete the game, I could see one finishing all of the 25 levels in a reasonable amount of time, though there is always the option of retrying levels to improve on one’s performance.

Overall, Sway has been one of the more enjoyable games that I have reviewed thus far. The game play and controls are refreshing, and the graphics are solid. The sound effects are vibrant, though they can get a bit annoying (you do have the option to turn them off). I haven’t had too many crashes, so the program seems stable. If you’re interested, I recommend trying out the Lite version, and if you like it, you can invest in the full version for $4.99. It’d be nice to get an update with additional levels, but as it stands, Sway is a great game that’s demonstrative of what the iPhone can do for gaming.

Video Trailer

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As a former SlingPlayer user on my Windows Mobile Samsung i730 and i760, I was anxiously awaiting the release of the live television streaming application for the iPhone. For nearly a year now, I have been without the live feed of my Slingbox (recently upgraded to a SB Solo due to a change in cable service) on my mobile phone. There have been a few wedding receptions, baby showers, and dull meetings where I could have benefited from catching some live sports coverage on my iPhone. After months of rumors leading up to the eventual release in the App Store this past Wednesday, the moment has finally arrived. Thanks to Brooke and the folks at Sling Media, I got a chance to play with the pricey app on my iPhone. Now, let’s get this out there right away: SlingPlayer only works on WiFi. No 3G, no EDGE, only WiFi. You can read about why and why people are mad about this, but I’m going to hold SlingMedia free from blame for this, and instead, I’m only going to judge the application on its performance under these conditions.

After downloading the app, I quickly (and excitedly) went through the setup process. To my delight, the application allowed me to login using my email and password, and within less than a minute, my home television was on my iPhone’s screen. I did not have to enter any long Slingbox ID numbers, names, or passwords. All that was needed was my account info, and I was up and running. There is the usual 4-7 second delay in the signal between my television and the Slingbox, but I wouldn’t notice this if I hadn’t been watching both simultaneously. On the options screen, I can set my favorite channels. This will come in handy, as there is a significant (3-5 second) lag on the SlingPlayer when changing channels. There is an extra few seconds on top of this for me, because I link my TiVo to my SlingBox, but I’m hoping that Sling will pare down the former a bit in updates. With favorite channels, I can cut down on the lag time, since there would be no need for entering the channel number. The iPhone app also allows me to swipe up and down for channel up/down as well as swipe left and right for my favorite channels. On a side note, the SlingPlayer can thus be used as a second remote control should you find yourself missing your regular one.

Other options include an on screen remote that gave me standard TiVo functionality, a guide button that pulled up my TiVo guide, and a button that pointed me directly to my TiVo menu screen. An options menu includes delivering audio only, a Standard/High Quality toggle, a help menu (had some trouble accessing some topics here), a letterbox toggle, and the ability to change device should you have multiple ones connected to your Slingbox. Using a test account provided my Sling Media, I pulled up similar options for the guide and menu screen for the Dish Network service. Both picture and audio quality were tolerable and borderline impressive in my point of view. I don’t have HD at home, so I may not have the keenest eye for sharpness, but I appreciated the reasonably sharp screen, and more importantly, the non-choppy signal (to be expected since I’m on WiFi). Outside of my home network, I tested the app at a nearby WiFi hotspot, and the smooth video continued to flow as quickly as the coffee.

My cousin used to travel a lot for his job. He would often pull up his Slingbox to watch the Angels game no matter where he was. As a teacher, I’m not frequenting airport terminals quite as much, so there is not as much of a need for live television streaming on my phone. For me, the Slingbox always has been and continues to be a gadget of excess. As with many gadgets, the Slingbox is something that symbolizes “cool” in that it shows the possibility of what can be achieved. For the consumer, I would be hard pressed to recommend this app for $29.99. The price does fit Sling’s pricing model as compared to their other mobile platforms, but given the WiFi limitation, I’d argue for a discount. However, given how the application seems to be climbing the Top 25 paid application chart, I doubt that this will come anytime soon. Thus, you’re left with a WiFi only version, and if you’re considering this app, my bet is that you probably have a laptop that’s just as capable of delivering a Slingbox signal with a larger picture and better sound for free. So, I’ll end on giving you a few reasons for and against purchasing SlingPlayer for the iPhone.

For:
You’ll get to show off TV on your iPhone (sans Orb/TV tuner), provided you have WiFi access.
Sling will most likely provide updates to tighten up and improve functionality.
Setup is easy, picture quality is solid, and video is smooth (again, all on WiFi)

Against:
It’s not a $0.99 application. (Wait for a sale or check out Orb if you have a TV tuner)
Unless you will always be near a WiFi connection, you’ll be watching nothing.
We all know the iPhone battery’s not the best. Don’t plan on watching an entire game in one sitting.

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Upon browsing the App Store one day, I remember stumbling upon Air Sharing, a file storage solution and document viewer for the iPhone. Since it was being offered for free as a promotion, I downloaded it, but didn’t really explore the program until a few weeks later. Since that time, I have reviewed two other similar programs for AppleiPhoneSchool: iDownload and ReaddleDocs. What follows below is a pre-release review of Air Sharing Pro, the major update to the original Air Sharing application. While the application has a plethora of options and features, I will choose to focus on ones that are included in the update and ones that appealed directly to me.

Overview
Air Sharing Pro offers similar functionality as the original application. The major components of the app allow you to view documents on your iPhone/iPod touch, and use the device as a wireless hard disk, including copy/pasting files into and out of folders on your computer. The update also allows you to email documents straight from your iPhone/iPod, organize your files into folders, print, zip/unzip, rename, and delete files all directly from your iPhone/iPod.

Closer to the Ultimate Data Storage Answer
At first, I wasn’t all that impressed with this application update, especially with the exciting pre release notes that came with it. However, after taking a closer look, I soon appreciated the amount of detail that went into this update. First off, just like the original Air Sharing app, Air Sharing Pro was pleasantly easy to set up. Within minutes, I mounted my iPhone as a wireless disk on both my Macbook and PC netbook. Now, I won’t focus too long on the features of Air Sharing that were present in the original application. The interface is still very intuitive and easy on the eyes. Viewing documents is easy and fast. I found it very simple and quite handy to have file options such as move, copy, rename, delete, all of which allowed me to organize my documents directly on the iPhone. Also impressive was the ability to email a file immediately from the application. It is now very easy to send a document using the built-in mail program and thus, tapping into your contacts as email recipients.

Other features that came touted by the developer included a secure connection (HTTPS), better stability as a pdf viewer, and the option to print documents directly from the application. Although I don’t think much about security in my home wireless network, it is assuring to know that the application communicates with a secure connection in times when I’m away from the house. I can attest to the smooth interface of the pdf viewer. I have numerous PDF’s that are quite large, and Air Sharing Pro seemed to handle these with ease. I don’t have a network printer at home, so I was unable to test this feature, but it speaks to the detail that the developer is striving for in trying to make the iPhone (along with Air Sharing Pro) that much closer to being a complete package in the world of portable computing.

What’s still missing?
As I’ve mentioned in other reviews of similar applications (iDownload, ReaddleDocs), I will still be using my USB flash drive until I can get access to my documents through a non-WiFi connection. The minute I turn off my iPhone or lose the connection (several times already while writing this review), I’m unable to access my documents. This can be especially problematic when I’m working on an important paper and all of a sudden I can’t save the document. Granted, it was simple to reconnect, but this downside would be limited if the 3G connection could somehow be used when WiFi is no longer available (or when the iPhone suddenly decides on its own to switch out).

I imagine the next logical extension for applications such as Air Sharing Pro would be to allow for editing of documents and spreadsheets. Existing documents such as QuickOffice or Documents seem to have a leg up on Air Sharing Pro in this arena. However, where Air Sharing Pro excels is how easy and simple it is to setup and subsequently use. The developers take pride in the elegant interface that they have created, and I will agree that the program is very easy to use, and when you get stuck, there’s a nice help option available within the program.

Conclusion
As mentioned above, the App Store is getting quite crowded with file storage applications. However, Air Sharing has been a major competitor from the early stages, and it shows in what has proven to be a solidly developed and quite refined application. The update to Air Sharing continues this dedication to excellence, though it remains to be seen whether the update to Pro is worth an additional $4.99. Similar to deciding whether one wants to update to the latest MacBook Pro, you have to weigh whether you need the additional features that the update provides. If you are not already an owner of Air Sharing and are looking for a solid file storage app and document viewer, then I’d be comfortable recommending this application, especially at a competitively priced $4.99.

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As a math and science teacher, I do a fair share of tutoring to make some additional income. I often carry my trusty TI-83 Plus (special edition blue, baby!) with me, but there have been several times when all I had was my iPhone. I will admit that the included iPhone calculator makes for a pretty decent substitute, and I get my scientific calculator functions when I rotate to landscape mode. However, there remained some functionality that was to be desired, and having a one-line display seems to remind me of the difference between a TI-30 and its bigger cousin, TI-83.

When sitting side to side with my TI-83 Plus, Numerus clearly has fewer buttons and no graphing capabilities. However, the app does pack in a decent number of buttons and their corresponding math functions. Numerus offers a multi-line display so you can see previous calculations right above your current calculation. All of the regular calculator functions along with those normally found on a standard scientific calculator are displayed on the iPhone screen in portrait mode. Different modes (degrees, radians, grad), along with a catalog of math functions exist. A “2nd” button allows you to choose other functions that don’t have a dedicated button, similar to what you would see on any commercial scientific calculator.

As mentioned above, Numerus contains most if not all of the functions that I would use while tutoring. It is equivalent to a $15 scientific calculator, but so is the built-in iPhone scientific calculator. What separates Numerus is that it works in portrait mode and has a multi-line display. The multi-line display is a big plus when compared to the built-in calculator. I love being able to see prior calculations, and the scroll function is a nice feature. Once loaded (there is a 3-4 second delay when starting the program, Numerus is very fast, and I like that it saved the last viewable calculations that you made should you leave the program. An interesting feature is the option to email your calculation history, which I did with ease, so this was kind of nice. Unfortunately, not all was squeaky-clean, as the application did not respond well when I pressed a button multiple times, and during one trial, the app would not start up again until I reinstalled it entirely. Not even a hard reset seemed to fix the problem.

Numerus can best be described as a promising application that has the potential to displace the native scientific calculator. With graphing capabilities (I picked up the nicely designed Graphing Calculator for free awhile ago…), Numerus could have been a contender for the calculator app of choice. Unfortunately, it seems that some stability issues and a lack of frequent updates could ultimately doom this app. Should the developer release an update and add more functions, a brighter design, and graphing options, this app might be worth its $1.99 price tag. Until then, I would recommend other free or $0.99 options that seem to be more complete at this time.

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